RULES AND REGULATIONS

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Article 1 - AGILITY REGULATIONS:

The current American Kennel Club Agility Regulations govern any rules not stated herein.

 

Article 2 - ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS:

Any recognized member of DACOF in good standing may enter.

No individual exhibitor entries will be accepted.

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Article 3 - ENTRIES:

DACOF members may form teams to compete consisting only of other DACOF members that actively participate together for four (4) months prior to the Competition.

 

Each DACOF sponsor may enter a maximum of 30 dogs which may be divided into any desired number of full or partial, “Buddy” teams.

 

A “full team” consists of ten (10) dogs, three each at the Novice and Open levels, and four at the Excellent level.

 

Partial “Buddy” teams may be formed to allow all DACOF Members the opportunity to compete and may consist of any number of dogs less than ten, with no more than three dogs at the Novice and Open levels, and four at the Excellent level. Dogs on “Buddy” Teams are inclusive of the 30 dogs maximum amount allowed per sponsor and the team member Handlers must be from the same roster. The method utilized in selecting individuals and dogs to represent a Team is not a part of these Rules and Regulations; however, the requirements of Article 4 below must be adhered to.

 

Sponsored membership is an individual membership paid for and sponsored by an entity, such as a club, school or association. Members of DACOF who are "sponsored members" have the same rights and privileges as other non-sponsored individual members, except that the designated sponsor can assign or transfer the membership to another in its discretion, prior to the "Closing Date."

 

Article 4 - EXHIBITORS:

Exhibitors must be in good standing with any dog registry with which they are affiliated.

Exhibitors must be active participants and included on a roster submitted (4) four months prior to the competition date in order to compete on a team with other members of that roster.

 

Organizations that sponsor members shall submit a roster (4) four months prior to the competition date. All roster members must be residents of the State of Florida with the following exception:  Sponsors located north of, or inline with, Interstate 10 will be allowed to list residents of Georgia or Alabama on their roster.

 

Anyone who is a member of DACOF can run a dog owned by another member who is also on the roster of that same Organization.

 

An exhibitor may not show more than one (1) dog per class level, per team (i.e. one handler may run up to three dogs on one team, one in each class level). Penalty for violation of this rule is scoring BOTH dogs run by the same handler as FEO (zeroes as scores) for each and any class of which the handler runs two dogs at the same level on the same Team, unless at least one of the two dogs was originally entered to run as FEO for the Team. There is no restriction on how many teams one handler may represent, as long as the handler is on the Organization’s roster. The dog may be handled by its owner or any other member of the Organization, under the above restrictions. Exceptions may be made when substituting a handler for another team member in cases of extreme hardship or serious illness/injury. The Board must pre-approve all exceptions!

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Article 5 - DOG ELIGIBILITY:

A dog is not required to have any title for the class entered.

 

A dog must compete at a level equal to or higher than its AKC Standard Agility Title, or equivalent title awarded by any other registry, whether attained at its regular or preferred height, earned approximately 60 days prior to the published closing date. Additional restrictions based upon previous DACOF Competitions and other Title Cross Reference Parameters may also apply. The DACOF BOD decision shall be final should there be any question regarding Class Eligibility.

 

A dog may be entered on one team only.

 

A dog may be entered in one class only.

 

Entries are not restricted as to breed or sex, except in the case of breed-specific Organizations whose teams must consist of only that breed or such other breeds as are specifically mentioned in that Organization's by-laws.

 

Mixed breeds are welcome to participate.

 

DACOF jump heights will be based on the AKC's Regular Jump Heights and not the Preferred Jump Heights.

 

8 Inches: For dogs 11 inches and under at the withers.

12 Inches: For dogs 14 inches and under at the withers.

16 Inches: For dogs 18 inches and under at the withers.

20 Inches: For dogs 22 inches and under at the withers.

24 Inches: For dogs over 22 inches at the withers.

 

Article 6 - ENTRY:

The entry fee will be determined each year by the Board of Directors.

 

No entries will be accepted unless accompanied by the appropriate entry fees and liability waiver.

 

Entry fee checks shall be made payable to DACOF.

 

Completed entries shall be submitted on the official DACOF entry form. Entries must be signed by either the Organization's President, the individual owner or the individual representing that team, signifying under penalty of disqualification that the information on the entry is correct. Signatures from individual Team Handlers affirming the same are also required.

 

No entry will be accepted without the number of volunteer worker(s) representing that team(s) as required on the entry form.

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Article 7 - CLOSING DATE, JUDGES, AND CATALOG:

Closing date for entries shall be a minimum of 28 days from the first day of the Competition, after which entries cannot be accepted or changed.

 

DACOF shall have the sole jurisdiction over selection of Judges.

 

A "catalog" will not be printed, but an exhibitor list will be published.

 

Article 8 - JUDGING, COURSES AND SCORING:

Course designs are to be consistent with AKC's Standard and JWW Titling design criteria. The Competition Chairperson has authority to require Judges to submit courses for approval or to design courses for the Judges' use. The Competition committee may adopt and offer additional classes from year to year as directed by DACOF and may designate scores from such to be used in team ranking under any formula the committee deems appropriate.

 

If multiple Judges are used for an individual class, entries will be assigned randomly between the Judges for the class. The Competition Chairperson has authority in this matter. All judging will follow current AKC Agility Regulations. The competition will be judged according to ISC rules in AKC Agility Regulations, Chapter 9, Sections 17 - 19, with the following exceptions:

 

A wrong course will incur a 5 point penalty.

 

The following faults will incur a 10 point penalty:

Missed Contacts

Dog knocking down any obstacle.

Handler jumping over, stepping on or going under, or through any obstacle.

Dog visibly moving or stepping on top of the Broad Jump.

See-Saw fly-off

Unintentional contact of dog or obstacle (however, simple clumsiness on the handler's part should not be faulted)

 

The following will incur a 100 point penalty:

Failure to complete an obstacle (including failure to adequately complete the 5 second table count)

Handler intentionally contacting dog

Exceeding Maximum Course Time (40 + Standard Course Time)

 

There will be no elimination penalty for exceeding the Refusal or Wrong Course Maximums for each level.

 

Signals:

Refusal or Run-Out: closed fist

Standard Course Fault: one open hand (Including wrong course, off & on table, missed weave pole, etc.)

Ten point penalty: two open hands (Includes knocked bar, missed contact, etc.)

100 point penalty: whistle (Short Blast)

Excusal: whistle (Long Blast or two Short Blasts)

 

Equipment:

Obstacle specifications will comply with those used in AKC's Standard and JWW Titling Classes.

 

Table:

If present, Dogs must pause on the table for five consecutive seconds. No specific position is required.

 

Course and Trial Requirements:

The recommended course size is 10,000-12,000 square feet. The minimum course size shall be 8,000 square feet with no side shorter than 60'.

 

Course Distances and Times:

Will follow the AKC's Titling Classes. Each dog's score is calculated using a formula of 100 added to the difference between the Standard Course Time and the dog's Course Time less any infraction penalties. Where the dog's Course Time exceeds the Standard Course Time, the difference is subtracted, rather than added in the formula (i.e. it becomes a penalty). Any dog that gives such a performance that the formula would yield a negative value will be given a score of '0'.

 

A team will use the best two out of three (or for Master/Excellent, four) scores in each class for each round. The rounds will be added together for the Team's total score.

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When FAST is offered, there will be no extra points awarded for finishing under course time. Failure to successfully complete the “Send” sequence will result in no “Bonus” points, but all obstacle points will be retained, subject to time penalties.

 

Standard Course Times for jump heights in each class will be determined using current AKC formulas, except for FAST which will be 38 Seconds for all classes and heights.

 

The run-off procedure to determine the State Highest Scoring Agility Novice, Open, and Excellent Class dogs shall be to judge each dog separately and according to AKC Regulations, with the exceptions contained herein. Where possible, each dog will be judged by a judge that did not evaluate the dog's original run. The Competition Chairperson has authority in the assignment of judging for run-offs.

 

The team having the highest combined score will be declared the State Highest Scoring Team. In the case of a team consisting of 3 members in a class, only the 2 highest scores will be tabulated in the Team's total score. In the event of a "Tie Score" for Highest Scoring Team, a run-off shall be conducted as follows: The teams which are tied shall select one Novice, one Open, and one Excellent dog to represent their teams in the run-off. The Competition Chairperson will select the course to be run by the selected dogs and the Judge for the run-off. All 6 dogs will run one course with judging appropriate to each level (i.e. Weaves not faulted for Refusals for Novice dogs). Any or all classes may be split into two rings to expedite judging.

 

Article 9 - DRESS:

Organization patches, shirts, or uniforms may be worn in the ring if a team desires to do so. For safety reasons, dogs may not wear decorative scarves or collars with any hanging attachments.

 

Article 10 - AWARDS:

Only team members who actually participate will be eligible for awards.

 

Article 11 - NO SCORE:

Any dog or handler that fouls the ring, or dog or handler found guilty of conduct that would call for excusing the dog or handler under American Kennel Club rules will receive a NO SCORE.

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Article 12 - ABSENTEES:

Team captains must report absences of team members. If an exhibitor is missing when the armband number is called there will be no attempt to locate that exhibitor.

 

 

 

Revised: January, 2024